Whichever side of the Hudson rivalry you’re on, Martin Brodeur was a huge part of the intense battles between the Rangers and Devils. His retirement last week ended a brilliant Hall Of Fame career that included three Stanley Cups, four Vezinas and Olympic gold. The former goalie holds the NHL record for most games (1,266), wins (691) and shutouts (125).

From his first full season as a rookie when he went head to head with Mike Richter in a classic seven-game Eastern Conference Final, Brodeur was front and center for the Battle Of Hudson. Many of his victories came against the Rangers. For so long, he never defeated them in the playoffs also losing in the ’97 Eastern Conference Semifinals. After backstopping the Devils to three Cups in less than a decade, he finally got the better of the Rangers in a 2006 first round sweep.

Brodeur went from battling Richter to going up against current Rangers’ all-time franchise wins and shutouts leader Henrik Lundqvist. The pair of number 30’s formed a nice rivalry. After Marty came out on top in ’06, Lundqvist returned the favor in 2008 with the Rangers prevailing in five in another first round. However, it was Brodeur who got the final match-up leading the Devils to a six-game Conference Final upset in 2012. At age 40, he was able to outperform Lundqvist helping New Jersey to its fifth Stanley Cup Final appearance.

Despite all their battles, Lundqvist paid tribute in a classy tweet congratulating Brodeur on a great career earlier today.

It is refreshing to see our goalie pay respect to a legend who played on a nemesis. Brodeur and the Devils broke our hearts in 2012. He didn’t always say the nicest thing about Lundqvist or our team. But that didn’t stop Lundqvist from continuing to exemplify why he’s so great for hockey. He gets it.

Brodeur will be missed. His competitive fire and will to be the best make him one of the best of all-time. Best of luck to him in the future.